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A22
viewpoint
Guardian www.guardian.co.tt Wednesday, December 16, 2015
NOTICE
The public is hereby
notified that
Friends For All
proposes to apply to
the Environmental
Management Authority
(EMA) for a variation in
accordance with the
Noise Pollution Control
Rules 2001 for the
Event/Activity described
below:
Date of Event/Activity:
Wednesday, 23rd
December, 2015
Description of
Event/Activity:
Christmas parade
Address of
Event/Activity:
Ariapita Avenue, Around
the Queens Park
Savannah and nearby
surroundings
Duration of
Event/Activity:
8:30pm to 11:00pm
1216055
"It is a period of civil
war. Rebel spaceships,
striking from a hidden
base, have won their first victo-
ry against the evil Galactic
Empire." When those words
appeared on cinema screens in
1977, in what has since become
known as "the opening crawl"
movie-goers in the United
States and around the world
were introduced to the Star
Wars universe.
It spawned a global phenom-
enon, taking the genre of sci-
ence fiction beyond its tradi-
tional audience and giving it
mass appeal. In the 38 years
that followed we ve been treat-
ed to five more films and a vast
assortment of merchandise.
And now, starting this week
with the release of the seventh
film, we return to the saga that
started, "A long time ago in a
galaxy far, far away..."
The first time I saw Star
Wars in the cinema was during
a limited re-release in the early
90s; I was instantly hooked,
and have since spent countless
hours and dollars on all things
related to the franchise. The
obsession even resulted in my
taking a class on the topic
while an undergrad. Of course
there was more to it than just
watching the movies, and
involved the theories of Joseph
Campbell, a scholar specialising
in the unifying tropes that all
myths contain. The most popu-
lar among them being the hero
who embarks on a grand quest
and ends up fulfilling his hid-
den potential. It equates the
adventures of Luke Skywalker
all the way back to the epic of
Gilgamesh.
The silver screen has a way
of covertly presenting reflec-
tions of the contemporary
world. Take two examples from
the era when the "sword and
sandal" reigned supreme: The
300 Spartans (1962) and Spar-
tacus (1960). Though the events
being portrayed occur during
history s classical period, both
can be interpreted as critiques
of Cold War ideologies. "Spar-
tans" exalts the noble sacrifice
for the survival of the inde-
pendent Greek civilisation as
they resist the conquering Per-
sian Empire---the pro-democra-
cy message of liberty over fas-
cism. In contrast however,
Spartacus touted the virtues of
communism over the corrupt
decadence of capitalism---the
slave uprising against the bour-
geoisie Roman Republic.
Star Wars is no exception
when it comes to addressing
the relationship between the
masses and the powers that be.
The first trilogy of films,
episodes IV, V and VI frames
the battle of good versus evil as
a David and Goliath-like strug-
gle, pitting a group of poorly
armed rebels against a tyranni-
cal regime. The Empire s por-
trayal is easily identifiable as a
reference to Nazi Germany or
Stalinist Russia---societies where
fear and force were the most
powerful weapons when it
came to maintaining control.
But for Americans in particular,
they will undoubtedly find par-
allels with their Revolutionary
War against the military jugger-
naut in service to the British
Crown.
Episodes I, II and III, also
known as the prequel trilogy,
had a more pragmatic story
arch. It explored the failures of
government when its bureau-
cracy becomes too large to
manage effectively. This time
the enemy was an alliance of
business entities represented as
trade, commerce and banking.
This resulted in a beleaguered
Republic quickly turning to the
creation of a military-industrial
complex to fight what would
eventually be revealed was an
engineered conflict.
One can easily see similari-
ties in the post-September 11
War on Terror that lead to the
invasion/occupation of Iraq,
and the mismanagement on
Wall Street that resulted in the
financial crisis of 2008, the
authoritative trifecta of politics,
the military and the economy
run amok. But even more alle-
gorical was the message that a
terrorised population is more
than willing to surrender their
freedoms for the sake of per-
sonal and national security.
What took place in that
galaxy far, far away may be a
lot closer than we realise.
We ve experienced quasi-tyran-
nies under the maximum lead-
ership style of Williams and
the megalomania of Manning,
the rampant corruption and
fiscal malfeasance of the spe-
cial interests employed by the
Panday and Persad-Bissessar
administrations, and the fear
and loss of civil liberties caused
by the failed insurrections of
1970 and 1990.
It will be interesting to see if
Episode VII continues this
trend of thoughtful storytelling.
Either way, just remember that
it s only a movie. So to every-
one eager to see it---enjoy. And
as always, may the Force be
with you.
The statement by the beleaguered
Central Bank Governor that the country
was in a recession should not be a sur-
prise. Any average citizen would know
that if their monthly income is cut they
have to make adjustments to meet the
shortfall.
The fact that the Governor decided to
use the economic information available
to him in his tit for tat with the Govern-
ment was unfortunate and something
one would expect of an entry level em-
ployee.
The governor should however calcu-
late if the change in the foreign ex-
change policy had any effect on the
economy. How many purchases had to
be cancelled due to lack of foreign ex-
change? How many businesses had to
move from a credit position with their
suppliers to cash? How many busi-
nesses had to space out their purchases
due the foreign exchange policy. How
much goods incurred rent and demur-
rage due to the lack of foreign ex-
change.
The price of oil and gas only began to
drop earlier this year but the foreign ex-
change woes began long before that.
Aleem Hosein,
San Fernando
There is no other country in the world
that disputes whether they are in a re-
cession or not, except of course, Trinidad.
This country's income is arrived mainly
from two sources oil and gas. At present
oil is around $38 per barrel and this fall in
prices must therefore put a dent in our
economy.
Moreover, all over the world workers
in the steel industry are being laid off
and in some developed nations steel
plants have been closed. Six hundred
workers have recently lost their jobs here
in the steel industry. This, together with
the dwindling oil price, must therefore re-
flect a cause for recession on this small
island with almost no other means of
maintaining the Treasury funds.
Now there is constant bickering be-
tween our politicians and other officials
as to whether we are really in a reces-
sion. Beggars belief.
Moreover, at a time when we need to
tighten our belts, this new government is
contemplating borrowing large sums of
money to undertake building of a new
railway and other infrastructure projects
which can only be considered as mad-
ness.
We must face the facts that we are in
a recession and any spending on infra-
structure projects must be postponed
until we recover from our present situa-
tion.
Finally, with so much corruption on
this island, borrowing money for new in-
frastructure projects would only lead to
more kickbacks and the creation of more
overnight millionaires which would leave
this country in financial ruin.
GA Marques
I have been wondering about the
shortages of gas to the petrochemical
plants at Pt Lisas and the consequent
drag on the economy. I have also read
about the strength of the Singaporean
economy although they have little natural
resources and they manage by importing
what they need, including gas.
It would seem therefore that it may be
prudent to consider importing gas to alle-
viate this shortage. If we import gas we
will need a regasification terminal. How-
ever, we also export gas through Atlantic
LNG and it seems we should be able to
take advantage of the low gas prices and
buy gas on the open market to satisfy At-
lantic LNG customers and divert their gas
to Pt Lisas and so avoid the cost of a re-
gasification terminal. We may also make
money if we source gas close to the cus-
tomer and so save on shipping.
Vesh Maharaj,
Palmiste
Jwala needs to explain some more
Face facts: We are in a recession
Buy gas to satisfy Atlantic LNG customers
IN A GALAXY (NOT SO) FAR AWAY...
RYAN HADEED
ryanhadeed@gmail.com